The Inkwell
by Kaiisan
Summary: She was calm and mature; she owned her own bookshop. He was awkward and rough around the edges; he was captivated by her from the very beginning. It started with his search for cat books. Their story continues from there.. Drabble series/prompts welcomed! (This has been edited) Cover Image by Rboz!
1. Crazy Cat Man

**In which Levy owns a book shop and Gajeel doesn't know how to look after cats.**

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><p>The Inkwell was Levy McGarden's small slice of paradise in a mundane world.<p>

Located off-the-beaten-track, down a side street from the main hustle and bustle of Magnolia City, this tiny bookshop thrived silently on its loyal customers and enthusiastic book lovers like herself.

The owner, Levy, was a twenty-five-year-old, five-foot-four woman of slender build and had a head of shocking blue hair; reminiscent of her wilder days that she was reluctant to let go of. Her hazel eyes were shielded by the red glasses resting delicately on her small nose. Today's choice of a green headband, a dark green dress that was actually just a giant sweater, a black long-sleeved shirt underneath and black tights on green flats stood out against the golden woodwork of the shelving that surrounded her.

The shop itself wasn't so much of a shop as it was a paying library. Books could be rented out on a trial of 1-3 days in which you paid to keep it for a few days; if you like that book you pay the remaining price for it, if you don't...well, you didn't pay the full price anyway.

There were also several tables and comfy chairs scattered here or there amongst the books, where a few regulars sat and had conversations with other patrons and Levy herself. She even served tea during the lunch hours of the day, and hot chocolates in the colder mornings of winter. Muted music played gently in the background.

Today was one such rainy morning, and whilst Levy sat bored out of her mind in a practically empty shop, the door crashed open with an unusual force, bringing in the harsh wind and rain from outside.

The man who entered was soaked to the bone, but seemed unaffected by it. He look fearsome enough in the black skinny jeans, chunky black boots and thick leather jacket; though oddly enough his long black hair made him look younger.

Well, it _was_ in a ponytail.

Squeezing the access water out of his long mane, the man grumbled under his breath for several minutes whilst Levy observed him unabashedly, no longer frightened by his appearance. Judging by his bag's logo, he was a student at the local college.

"Hello!" She called out cheerfully, startling the - apparently younger - man. Red eyes met hers briefly before the grumbling student shook himself out like an untrained dog, splattering the nearby areas. Levy glared at him, "Oi! You have to buy any books you damage, yaknow?"

"Gotcha," the tall, mysterious person muttered with a sarcastic eyeroll. With that, he turned away from her and strolled down one of the aisles of books available.

He wasn't seen again for another hour. Once he'd finally returned into view, Levy was surprised at the amount of books he was carrying.

And they were all about cats. Looking after cats. Feeding cats. Toys cats like. The list goes on.

He dropped them unceremoniously onto the counter and growled out a quiet "Don't look at me like that."

Levy's jaw clicked shut as she fought to contain her laughter. This six-foot-something college delinquent was looking for books on cats this whole time?

"Are you buying or renting these out?" she asked carefully. At his confused look, she added: "You can rent these out for 25% of the total price, then buy the ones you want to keep and return the rest in three days. Or buy them at full price. If you don't return them from rent after three days you get sent a fine."

"Runnin' a hard deal here, eh?" He muttered with a smirk before fishing his wallet out of his back pocket. "I'll buy 'em."

Levy grinned cheekily back at him. "Go hard or go home, I say. Nine pounds forty-five, please."

He pulled a tenner out and handed it over, which was the exact moment Levy decided to ask.

"So, why all the cat books? Gonna be the first Crazy Cat Man?"

A snort of amusement followed, then a reply. "Of course. It's an original idea goin' viral." He collected the change from her hand, brushing fingertips with the blunette softly before pocketing the coins. "On a sidenote, I've recently acquired a kitten from a friend who can't find anyone to look after him. And I know fuck all about cats, so..." he shrugged. "Guess I gotta start somewhere."

"Fair play," Levy smiled up at him as she folded his receipt and placed it inside the carrier bag along with the dark-haired man's purchases. "Let me know how it goes sometime."

"For that, I'll have to know yer name at least." Gajeel smirked at her cheekily, and suddenly Levy realised she had been flirting with him, the whole time.

"L-Levy McGarden," stammering out her name with a blush, she met his eyes with hesitantly and asked, "and your name?"

"Gajeel Redfox, at yer service." Grinning, the taller person packed the books away in his bag and lifted his hand up in a farewell pose, turning to leave again. "See ya around sometime!"

Levy smiled.

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><p>Two weeks later, the door to the bookshop crashed open again, startling Levy out of the book she was reading. Looking up, her eyes widened at the sight.<p>

Gajeel Redfox, this tall, well-muscled and frankly _dangerous_ looking man, stood in front of her again; as desheveled as before, though this time he seemed to have something in his coat.

"Look!"

Grinning so boyishly Levy would have thought inpossible of him, he pulled out a tiny black kitten with a scar on its eye, holding it in front of the blunette proudly.

"Is this... your cat?" Levy asked carefully, setting down the book she was holding.

"Uhuh," nodding, Gajeel started cuddling the tiny thing to his cheek, to which the kitten complained but didn't move to scratch him.

Levy smiled at the view in front of her. "What's his name?"

"Pantherlily."

Levy's eyebrows raised, but didn't comment. Watching the suddenly boyish college student in front of her, she smiled gently at the thought of having a new regular to talk to.

She had a feeling she'd see him more often, anyway.

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><p><strong><strong>I'm happily accepting any prompts for this drabble series! This will be randomly updated between college and writing my other stories. Also, check out my poll? Thanks for reading - tell me what you think :D<strong>**


	2. Pumpkin Spice Latte

**Pumpkin Spice Latte**

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><p>"You serve tea in here?" Gajeel asked suddenly, not looking up from the book he was 'reading'.<p>

Said man was currently sat cross-legged on the floor behind her L-shaped mahogany desk, hidden from sight due to its admittedly large structure. He sat there on most days, and Levy had begun to assume he was skipping classes in order to sit here with her. Next to him, the blunette swivelled side to side in her cushioned deskchair with the use of one shoeless foot on the counter next to the till. There was a small basket under the desk where, on the occasions when Gajeel brought his cat, Lily would sleep in a pile of scarves that Levy kept in case the heating broke; which happened every once in a while.

"During the lunch hours, yeah," Levy murmured, flicking to the next page of her magazine. Today's outfit consisted of multiple tank tops in black and purple, a thick white wool cardigan which was falling slightly off one shoulder, thick grey leggings with a snowy pattern from the knees down, and plain grey socks. Instead of a bandanna or ribbon, Levy had worn a black woolly hat to the shop, and so her fringe was a loose mess on her face, the rest of her hair in an untidy side ponytail over her left shoulder. Her usual red glasses were perched on her nose.

"How much for one? I can't seem to warm up,"

"First one's on the house if you tell me how old you are,"

Gajeel smirked. "Yer still on about that? What ya worryin' for?"

"Wondering whether or not it's illegal for me to hide you away from the classes you're obviously skipping." Levy rolled her eyes at him with a grin of her own. "Want to be sure I get my statement just right."

Gajeel snorted at the remark, then seemed to think about it.

"I'll tell you my age if you tell me yours,"

"I don't need you calling me old lady names, or worse. Besides, you're getting free tea out of telling me."

"Tch, fine. I'm nineteen." He threw her a cheeky grin and a wink. "Definitely legal."

Blushing at the horribly obvious flirt, Levy laughed loudly to cover the sound of her heart beating far too noisily for its own good. Getting to her feet and leaving her magazine on the desk, she slipped her feet into the fluffy slippers she kept in the shop and trudged lazily through the beaded door curtain that lead to the back room. Spare copies of books littered the bookshelves in here, as well as a small counter with a sink and a kettle next to it filled the room. She opened a cabinet door and called out what was available.

"Ginseng, Lemon, Lavender, Peppermint, Green Tea, Earl Grey, Nettle, or plain ol' black tea."

"Which do you recommend?"

"Depends how adventurous you're feeling."

"Like, five?"

"Out of ten?"

"Yeah,"

"Peppermint, then."

There was a grunting noise, then silence. Levy grabbed a packet of peppermint for Gajeel and plain for herself, then boiled the kettle.

"Ya gonna tell me yer age then?" An amused grumble called from a few feet away. Levy sat herself on the stool by the counter, getting her phone from her cardigan pocket.

"Nope," popping the 'p', she flicked away a friend request from a guy called Dan Straight, then tapped on the new message from her friend, Lucy, who was a well-established author despite only being 26-years-old. In fact, Levy had several of her friend's best sellers in stock in her shop, and they sold out frequently.

The blonde girl in question was asking if 'Crazy Cat Guy' was there again. Giggling to herself, Levy tapped out a reply, certain that if Gajeel ever found out her nickname for him to her friends he would stop visiting her completely.

The kettle clicked, alerting the petite woman to it being done and she put her phone away, pouring hot water into both cups. Stirring and pressing the peppermint one first, she took out the little teabag and dumped it in the bin next to the counter, then stirred, pressed and dumped her own teabag. From the cabinet she opened the mini fridge inside and grabbed the carton of milk, pouring some into her cup. Returning it, she grabbed the sugar and spooned several heaps in with a gentle stir and closed the cabinet. Keeping the spoon on her saucer, she grabbed both drinks and walked carefully backwards out the back room, turning only once she was out of the beads.

"One peppermint tea," she announced, handing it over to the lounging student. Settling into her chair with her feet tucked underneath her, she sipped her sweetened drink appreciatively as she watched Gajeel hesitantly sniff his own.

Nose wrinkling, carefully blowing at the steam, hesitating lips.

Taking a small sip after a few moments, the teen seemed surprised. "S'good."

Smiling, Levy told him, "Peppermint's good for waking up. So drink it on the way to your morning classes or something."

"Ahh," Gajeel nodded, seemingly interested, if only a little. "What's yours do?"

"It's an antioxidant,"

"That's...er..great?" His confused look was one she'd begun to see often when she used big words on him.

"It has a kind of...healing effect, so to say," she simplified. Gajeel shrugged and went back to sipping his own tea.

"Is it yer favourite?" Abruptly asking another question as usual, Levy thought.

"I like it as my usual one, yeah. But I like hot chocolates and coffee too, as long as it isn't plain coffee."

"So ya like all that fancy mumbo-jumbo the coffee shops round 'ere sell?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Sometimes," she stuck her tongue at him playfully. "I'm not too old as to not enjoy such things."

"Dammit, Shortstuff, just tell me how old ya are already!" Gajeel groaned, knocking his head against the desk in frustration.

"Hmm, you seem really anxious to know," Levy grinned, amused. She gasped when his head suddenly shipped around towards her and he had a gentle expression on his face.

"Please... tell me?"

Rolling her eyes, she sighed, leaning back in her chair. "Fine. You win. I'm... twenty-five."

Having a sip of his tea at that precise moment was not very well thought out, and the long-haired boy nearly choked. "S-six years older than me?!"

"You seem surprised," the smaller woman drawled sarcastically. "I wonder why."

"Well, it's just..." Gajeel mumbled into his cup, refusing to meet her gaze. "Ya look really young, yaknow? Younger than twenty-five, anyway."

Levy blushed. Heavens above, this boy was adorable sometimes.

"And also, yer really, _really short,_ so-"

"_Get out right now Gajeel Redfox or I swear to God-"_

"Gihihihi! Catch ya later Shrimpy!"

Sometimes.

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><p>Three days later, Levy had a sense of deja vu as the door crashed open again. This time, the customer was not carrying a cat in his coat - thankfully; in this weather she'd have killed him for dragging his poor cat along - but rather, a branded Styrofoam cup of coffee.<p>

"Here," He set the cup down. It was branded with the logo of a coffee shop she'd heard Lucy mention as her 'lifesaver' often enough, so cautiously she picked it up and sniffed it. It smelled wonderfully sweet and had a nice spice to it too.

"What's this?" She asked quietly. Looking up at her regular stowaway client, she noticed him shuffling awkwardly on his feet as he looked anywhere but at her.

"Pumpkin Spice Latte, or some shit like that. The barista said that chicks seem to dig it, and it's the season's special, so I thought..." he cleared his throat. "Yaknow.. cause I made you tell me yer age when ya didn't wanna, and then I pissed you off... ya mentioned ya liked them sometimes, so I just..." he kicked at the carpet and shrugged. "Tell me if you like it?"

Levy hid her smile behind the cup, but she was sure that if he looked at her he would see it straight away. Gratefully she took a long sip of the quickly cooling beverage, holding back a moan at the delicious taste that quenched her thirst.

"It's delicious, thank you, Gajeel." She beamed at him happily, and he smiled back.

There was a moment of silence before Gajeel glanced at the clock hanging up on the wall behind the desk. Cursing, he turned his gaze back onto the blunette.

"I gotta go, there's a class I actually _like_ goin' to in ten minutes and I don't wanna be late," he ran for the door, swung it open, then stopped.

"Hey, Shorty!" he called, gathering her -annoyed- attention. "Six years isn't that much of a difference, I won't mind it if you won't!"

Giving her a cocky smirk and a wave, he dashed out the door and down the street, passing by red-faced pedestrians and leaving an equally red-faced book shop owner behind.

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><p><strong>I couldn't help it, I really really wanted to write about their ages and pumpkin spice latte.<strong>

**Seriously, this is it for now, unless I get a prompt/idea for this story - so let me know if there's an event you want to have happen! :)**

**Check out my poll if ya want, leave a review if you can :)**

**Bye Bye~**


	3. Lucy

**Lucy**

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><p>Since the recent publishing of her newest book, Levy's closest friend Lucy had been visiting her often, checking on the sales of her book from the blunette's shop. It was a warm welcome to the admittedly boring days of the week where the majority of her customers during this time were little deaf ladies. Of course, Levy loved all her customers, but after pouring them tea and exchanging pleasantries, she didn't have much in common with her usual patrons. Only occasionally she'd have kids and their parents come in, as well as teens looking for cheap learning material.<p>

Seeing Lucy more often simply made the quiet hours pass quicker. Her friend was tall, curvaceous and very beautiful, with long blonde hair and big brown eyes. She didn't look a day over twenty, another feature that was loved by her male audience. And despite all femininity, her stories were all fantasy and adventure stories, tales of dragons and magic rather than the fluffy love stories people often perceived her to write.

Said blonde was currently sat in Levy's chair, complaining about everyone and their mother.

"How can you stand being in here all day, every day?" Lucy sighed for the fifth time that hour. "It's driving me crazy already and I've only been here two hours!"

"I'm used to this sort of quiet," Levy smiled at her energetic friend. "Plus I can read all day long, life can't get any better than this."

"You need a man," Lucy concluded, nodding her head firmly. "When was the last time you made out with someone?"

"Luce!" Levy gasped, hand flying to mouth as she looked around. "That's not something to discuss in a public place!"

"Levy, we are literally the only two people in here right now," dead-panned Lucy in reply. It was true; there was no-one in sight and nobody had come into the shop in the space of time since Lucy did.

"What about Crazy Cat Man? What's he like?" Lucy mused.

"He's just a regular customer, there isn't much to know." Levy shrugged off the question, for some reason she wasn't ready to divulge her steadily growing relationship with Gajeel to her friend, not when there wasn't anything other than wordplay going on.

"Is he _really_ obsessed with cats?" queried Lucy.

"Just his own," the blunette informed her. "And to be fair, it's adorable, so it's completely justified."

"Well, I don't think that type'll suit you anyway," Lucy sniffed dismissively, much to the amusement of Levy. _If only she knew,_ she thought.

"Levy, when was the last time you kissed someone?" Lucy inquired suddenly, leaning forward rather eagerly. Levy, sat with one leg over the other on the desk as she leaned back on her hands, shuffled as far back as she could from her overly-curious friend.

"I-I can't remember something so trivial, Luce! It's not important, anyway."

"Fine. How about sex?"

_"Lucy!"_

Giggling loudly, Lucy rolled her eyes. "Are you saying you haven't done it? Lev, you're twenty-five."

"S-shut up," Levy protested weakly. "You know I want to wait."

"I know, I was just teasing," Lucy assured, waving a hand dismissively. "But when _was_ your last relationship? The last person I remember was-"

"We don't need to talk about him!"

"Talk about who?" interrupted a new voice.

Jumping in fright, both girls turned their attention to the new person in the conversation. There in all his glory, stood Gajeel; wearing a black, fur-lined leather jacket, a hoodie underneath and scuffed jeans and boots, with a new feature of a dark red beanie, meaning he was wearing his hair down and Levy could see it was fairly long, several inches past his collar bones at least. As he stood there, a slight frown on his face, Levy had a good view of the piercings along his eyebrows and nose. She hadn't really noticed them before, but now that she had she realised they suited him.

Lucy seemed very surprised to see Gajeel too, which was odd. At that second Gajeel spotted her too and had a double take.

**"YOU!?"**

Both of them pointed at each other at the same time.

"You two know each other?" Levy blurted out in surprise. This snapped Gajeel out of whatever trance he was in, since his face started going a little red.

"Nope, not at all." Gajeel croaked out quickly with a cough.

"We bumped into each other before," Lucy informed the curious blunette.

"No we didn't!" the long-haired teen denied hotly with a scowl.

"Yes we did~" Lucy sang, a mischievous grin on her face suddenly forming.

Eyes flickering between the two, Levy wondered what the heck was going on.

"We shall never speak of this!" Pointing at Lucy fiercely, Gajeel growled in a confused manner, before stomping back out of the shop. Levy could see his cheeks were red as he glared at the blonde through the window whilst walking away.

"I think you embarrassed him," Levy informed her giggling best friend.

"Ahh well, I couldn't help it, he was so adorable." Lucy admitted.

Levy frowned. "You bumped into him and he was adorable?"

"Well, I was in that coffee shop, you know, the one I call my 'life-savers'?" Levy nodded. "And he was stood in front of me in the queue. On his turn he stood there forever, muttering and mumbling about not knowing anything about coffee. He was holding everyone up but he kept arguing with the lady at the till about the most recommended coffee. It seemed like he was buying it for his crush, or something; it was just really cute."

Levy laughed at that; she could imagine the situation in her mind. At the same time though, the thought of him putting in so much effort just to get her a cup of coffee made her blush a little.

Lucy noticed her friend go silent. "Lev? Who was that guy anyway?" Lucy winked exaggeratedly. "Your secret lover, perhaps? He was kinda attractive, in that punk way."

"Well..." Levy bit her lip to stop herself from smirking, thinking of how Lucy will react. "Actually, that was 'Crazy Cat Man'."

Lucy's eyes widened and her jaw dropped, blinking up owlishly at her grinning friend.

_"Eeehhh?!"_

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><p>"So Blondie's yer friend from high school," Gajeel muttered, sitting in his usual spot next to Levy's chair. It was a few days since the two most interesting people currently in Levy's life had run into each other.<p>

"Mhmm," Levy hummed.

"Well, that's just great," Gajeel sighed. "I'm gonna end up seein' more of her, aren't I?"

"Well, if you keep hanging around, sure." Levy shrugged off the uncomfortable thought of not having the usual company of this quirky dark-haired teen.

"Why wouldn't I keep comin' by?" Gajeel questioned, raising an eyebrow at her.

"W-well, if Lucy makes you uncomfortable-"

"Well, yeah she does," Gajeel broke in, "but just 'cause she saw me doin' somethin' embarrassing. But I'll get over that. Somethin' as insignificant as that won't stop me from seein' ya." Wrapping his arms around his knees, Gajeel hid his face in the crook of his arms, though Levy could still see the redness of his cheeks.

Blushing profusely, Levy couldn't hide her beaming smile even if she tried.

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><p><strong>Extra<strong>

"Blondie," Gajeel greeted stiffly as the young author entered the shop.

"...Crazy Cat Man.." Lucy replied after a moment's hesitation.

"What...-?"

"Lucy! You weren't supposed to tell him!" Levy cried. Gajeel stood there in silent shock. _Blondie called me a crazy cat man._

"What? You never told me his name! What else am I supposed to call him?" Lucy yelled back.

Gajeel still stood motionless.

_"Crazy...cat man..."_

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><p><strong>That'sRidiculous asked to see how Gajeel would act around Levy around other people, and I tried but I don't think I got it right : I wanted to perceive Gajeel as less casual/more formal around Levy around other people... **

**I hope you enjoyed anyway! Leave some suggestions in a review and tell me what you think so far! :D **


	4. Horrific Family Reunion

_In reply to the guest reviewer, Miri: yes there will be, and here's the next set of appearances! As for your other question... you'll have to wait and see... fufufufufu... ;D_

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><p><strong>Horrific Family Reunions<strong>

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><p>"Yer cheerful," Gajeel murmured as he observed Levy rushing back and forth, hanging up Halloween decorations. She had orange, pumpkin-shaped paper banners and black, bat-shaped paper banners which were slowly but surely being taped up around the book store. She also had laminated cut-outs of cartoons witches, black cats, zombies and vampires.<p>

"Halloween's nearly here, Gajeel!" Levy chirped happily in reply, shoving some white mesh into his chest. "Hang up some spider webs, please?"

"Aren't girls supposed to be scared of Halloween?" Gajeel grumbled under his breath. Levy smirked at him, and suddenly he felt himself shivering.

"Oh Gajeel," she sighed, "You've yet to learn something very important about me...I _love horror."_ At his slightly worried face, Levy chuckled to herself. "I _really _love horror. Blood, gore, violence! All of these are the best qualities in a good story. The terror of dying an unpleasant death, the agony of broken bones, feeling the anguish coming off the characters in waves...fufufu..."

Gajeel started backing away.

"Y-yeah, so, those spider webs-"

He ran.

Giggling, Levy's face returned to normal and she carried on her preparations.

"Oh yeah, Gajeel!" she called out to the dark haired teen, who appeared warily from behind some bookshelves. "My brothers will be visiting for a few days for Halloween, so stop by if you want to meet them too."

Gajeel frowned, his eyebrows furrowing. "You have brothers?" In his mind, he pictured short, skinny, blue-haired brats.

"Yep. Their name's are Jet, who's twenty-eight, and Droy, who's twenty-seven." Levy smiled. "And before you ask, they're average height for adults."

Gajeel snorted, relaxing once again now that Levy's scary aura had fully disappeared.

The door jingled as a regular customer entered the shop.

"Oh! Miss McGarden, you've done a wonderful job again this year." The frail-looking lady smiled gently at the blunette.

"Why thank you, Mrs Applefield! Here, let me walk you to your usual seat, and I'll get you a nice hot chocolate with whipped cream, how does that sound?" Smiling, Levy guided the woman to her seat, chattering on about this and that. By the time she went to the back room, she found Gajeel was already there, the kettle was boiling and he was sat looking at her phone, which she'd forgotten about.

"Oi! That's mine, brat!" She exclaimed, reaching out to snatch it away. With her advantage of surprise, she managed to snag it before he stood up.

"Brat?" Gajeel smirked. "I thought we weren't allowed to use age-related pet names?"

"_You_ can't," Levy quipped back. "I never said _I_ couldn't."

Grunting, Gajeel shrugged. "Who's Dan Straight?"

"You looked at my Facebook! Rude brat!" At the she received a hard poke in her side, causing her to jump in shock. "Gah! I don't know! He keeps adding me!"

"Block him, right now. He should get the hint then." advised the long-haired teen. At the silent response, he noticed she was staring at him intently. "What?"

"Are you jealous?" Levy asked curiously. She made her eyes widen in an innocent manner, to which Gajeel fell prey to and began to stutter.

"N-no! It's just those creeps will stalk you until they find you and kidnap you!"

"Are you saying you're worried about my safety, then?"

"NO! I-I mean, yeah, but- yer makin' fun of me now, aren't ya?"

At her mischievous giggle, Gajeel groaned and left the back room. "You. Are. Impossible."

"Deal with it."

"I'd rather not. I've got a thing at college in an hour, and I have to meet up with a classmate beforehand, so I'll catch ya later."

"Ah.. okay. Bye bye," With a small wave, Levy watched him disappear before making the hot drink for her customer.

* * *

><p><strong>A few days later...<strong>

Gajeel was halfway through town, with music blasting in his ears, when he noticed two people who were standing around awkwardly. Taking a good look at them, he realised they seemed to be lost.

One of them, a tall, lanky man with orange hair pulled back into a ponytail, was yelling at the man next to him and pointing around. His actions made the other man, a chubby fellow with short black hair, cry out in protest whilst he stuffed his face in a packet of crisps. For some reason, Gajeel felt obliged to help them.

"Oi," he grunted, taking his headphones out. "Ya lost?"

The two men looked half scared to death. To be fair, it _was_ quite dark out at 6pm at this time of year, plus it was Halloween day.

"I-Inkwell...it's c-called The Inkwell!" the orange-haired guy stammered out.

Gajeel raised an eyebrow. "The bookshop run by the shorty?"

"Yes! That's the bookshop our precious little sister owns!" the fatty wailed, producing a burger out of nowhere and stuffing it into his mouth.

"Ah, so you're Jet and Droy..." Gajeel muttered under his breath.

"Ah, yeah! I'm Jet McGarden and this is Droy, my brother." The lanky guy pointed his thumb over his shoulder. "Do you know our sister?" Looking the obviously taller teenager up and down, Gajeel could tell he was trying to be threatening.

"Yeah I do. We hang out." On second thought, he added, "My name's Gajeel Redfox. Please to meet you, Levy's brothers."

"Hmm," Jet pondered with a small smirk. "You're polite when ya want to be. I kinda like you."

"H-hang out! Levy-chan would hang out with someone like you and not us?!" Droy bawled.

"I'm obviously the less annoyin' choice by the looks of it..." rolling his eyes, he started walking down the street. "Hurry up, I'll take ya there. Was headin' there anyways."

For the entire way there, Gajeel learned several new things about Levy and her brothers.

One; Levy and her brothers are of Japanese heritage and all had naturally black hair, though Jet dyed his in highschool for popularity and Levy dyed hers during her 'rebellious' phase in college and stuck with it. Droy lacked the courage and decided not to.

Two; their parent's were very sick when they were young and passed away when they were ten, nine and seven respectively. Levy spent most of her childhood looking after her brothers, to which developed into the third thing Gajeel found out.

Jet and Droy had a sister complex.

They talked non-stop about her, from how she was as a baby to the way her voice sounds on the phone when they call each other every month. The two of them were happy enough to devulge information on her (other than embarrassing things of course!) so Gajeel went along with it quietly enough. It meant he could learn more about her and get along with her brothers, even if they were yet to realise his intentions.

When they reached the book shop, the main lights were off in the main room and a strange green light was coming from the back room. As Gajeel warily pushed the door open, a misty grey fog drifted out of the doorway around his feet.

Hesitantly the three of them entered the shop properly, letting the door fall shut behind them.

_"Jet-onii...Droy-onii... where are my onii-chans...I want my onii-chans..."_ a quiet, echoing whisper drifted out from the back room.

"Levy! Levy, are you there?" Jet called out, looking around. Droy grabbed his shoulder and pointed towards the back room.

"There! She must be in there!"

The two of them cried out simultaneously, **"Levy-chan! Your onii-chans are here-"**

_**COME AND PLAY, ONII-CHANs...**_

Bursting out from the back room, a foreboding shape appeared as an evil cackle loudly resonated through the shop from the speakers.

Standing there in ripped, doll-like clothing, was Levy, soaked in fake blood. The dress was pink and child-like, and had puffy shoulders and lace trimmings that were, unfortunately, splashed with drying blood. She wore an equally blood-soaked eye patch that had blood dripping down her face from underneath it. There was a cut down her cheek to her neck that seemed to ooze blood. Her hair, though tied up with a pretty pink ribbon, also had dark streaks in it. She smiled up at the three men before her, a menacing grin stretching her features horrifically.

_"Want to play, my dear onii-chans...?!"_

**"AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"** Jet and Droy screamed, high-pitched and terrified for their lives. They ran straight out of the shop again and down the street, crying uncontrollably.

Giggling like a school girl, Levy moved past a frozen Gajeel and flicked the lights back on, turning off the fog machine as she returned behind her desk.

"Gajeel... you okay in there?" she waved her hand in front of his face.

"I...er...what?" Shaking his head, he frantically tried to erase the haunting image from his mind.

"Did you like my prank?" she cradled her un-bloodied cheek innocently with one hand.

"Prank? Ya mean ya do this all the time?"

"Yep. Every year. Especially when we all lived together. October was my time to shine!" Her eyes darken as she frowned suddenly. "The only time I can fully get my revenge for their annoying sister-complex..."

"Ahh, so ya know about that?"

"How could I not? It's endearing some of the time, but this was every day! I can't handle it all day, every day, yaknow?"

"I only had to put up with it for a few minutes, but I get what ya mean."

"Oh? Did you meet them on your way here?"

"Yeah, they were lost."

"Typical brothers." Smiling gently, Levy sighed and untied the eye patch, murmuring to herself, "I do love them though."

"Yeah, brothers are okay." Gajeel agreed.

"Do you have any siblings, Gajeel?" Asked Levy curiously.

"A step-brother who's a couple years younger. We're not close though."

"Jet and Droy like you, I think." After washing her face off, Gajeel could see that the blunette had used wax to make the fake cut.

"That's...good?"

"Yeah. They're very protective of me, even now."

"Understandable since yer so small."

"Shut up. Brat."

"Tch!"

* * *

><p><strong>Extra<strong>

"Demon sister!"

"Why, Levy-chan?"

Quiet sobbing could be heard inside the quaint little bookshop, as well as a delighted giggle and a tired sigh. For the next few days, Jet and Droy used Gajeel as a human shield between themselves and Levy, and through that the three of them bonded quite well.

* * *

><p><strong>Yoooo have an early Halloween thing. Because I'm never on time with these things so might as well have it early right? In other news I've been working on a farm all week and have been really super tired so I've written this really quickly! I know several of you have requested Gajeel meeting Jet and Droy and this was what I liked writing the most! The situation and interactions just seemed to fit.<strong>

**Anyway, I need sleep.**

**Also I used a bit of artistic licensing since in the Fairy Tail Wiki Jet and Droy don't have surnames so I made them Family.**

**Leave a suggestion in a review and I'll see what I can do! :)**


	5. Bonus Update - White Boy Attire

**(Bonus Update) - White Boy Attire**

_Inspired by Rboz's latest Gajevy pic._

* * *

><p>On a surprisingly mild day of the winter season, Levy was sat in her little shop in just her sweater and leggings. Most of the people outside wore slightly lighter jackets than usual, and less scarves were to be seen.<p>

It was to no surprise then, that when Gajeel arrived as per usual of a Friday morning, that he wore something other than his usual hoodie and leather jacket combo.

Suffice to say, Levy wasn't expecting him to wear a shirt so visibly _egotistical._

After stripping off his zip-up hoodie, which was damp from the slight rain outside, Levy could only stare at the vanity of his shirt, which was barely a shirt to be honest. It was a sleeveless shirt, and the text only exploited this feature in the most vain way possible.

"Ya like what ya see, Shorty?" Flexing with a huge smirk on his face, Gajeel proudly showed off his muscles, which, according to his shirt, was the reason why it had no sleeves.

"D'ya get it? '_I flexed and the sleeves fell off'_! It's like it was made for me!"

Levy blushed, it did in fact suit him. And she previously hadn't been aware of just how physically fit Gajeel was until now. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of admitting this out loud, however.

"You've risen to a new level of vanity, Gajeel."

"Ya know ya love it."

"That's debatable."

"Gihihi!"

* * *

><p><strong>Have a small update not in relation to the current timeline of the story. I recently saw Rboz's latest Gajevy art and felt the need to include it into my story somehow.<strong>

**As for the main story, I have four solid prompts/ideas that I want to write, as well as a couple more from you readers that you've recently asked for!**

**Hope this is enough for now, I've got to do some college work this week so I may not update again for a while!**


	6. Dragon Club

**Dragon Club**

* * *

><p>Some time after Halloween, Levy was greeted with a peculiar sight.<p>

Specifically, two unfamiliar students from Magnolia college - again based on the logos of their bags. A young boy with purple-tinted hair and a young girl with navy blue hair in braids had their faces plastered to the window of her shop and were looking around curiously. They seemed to be unaffected by the cold in their eagerness to find whatever it was they were looking for. Behind them, across the street, stood a mildly annoyed Gajeel, nose and cheeks red as a cold wind blew past.

Wandering over to stand in front of the window, she tapped on it gently, catching the pair's attention. She signalled them to come inside, despite the silent protests of Gajeel. Judging by the frantic head-shaking and the big X he was making with his arms, it seemed like he was against them coming into the shop.

"Can I help you?" she smiled at them as they made their way inside, glancing about as they did so. The purple-haired boy was a few inches taller than Levy herself, wearing a bright orange scarf that contrasted with his messily-dyed hair. He looked no older than sixteen. The girl looked about the same age, though she'd taken more care in her appearance, it seemed. Her hair was a dark, midnight blue, with lighter highlights blended in. Her braids were slightly messy from the wind, though they hadn't unravelled. Either way they seemed a bit too young for college.

"We're looking for a friend of ours, he hasn't been showing up to club activities lately." The girl spoke with a polite smile.

"His name's Gajeel," the purple-haired student made a motion with his hand, way above his head. "'Bout this high, frowns a lot, looks like he would bully you for your lunch money?"

"Gajeel's in a _club_?" Levy's eyebrows raised in surprise. She found it hard to picture the long-haired teen in a club and doing social activities.

"So you _do_ know him?" the girl spoke up again, a hopeful look in her eyes.

Levy hesitated. "Well, I guess-"

"Hey guys! Look who I found standing around outside of here!" a third unfamiliar voice broke in, as well as the sounds of struggling and quiet grunts. The door was accidentally slammed shut in the process before all went silent.

"Gajeel!" the short-statured girl bounded over and hugged the rather annoyed-looking boy.

"Hey, Chicka."

"I hate that nickname Gajeel!" the blunette pouted, making the tall boy smirk and ruffle her hair. The third new person was another guy, slightly shorter than Gajeel but seemingly his age, or older. His hair was bright pink and he had a white, patterned scarf wrapped round his neck. He looked slightly familiar, but Levy couldn't imagine why for the life of her.

"Good afternoon, Gajeel." Levy waved awkwardly. "It seems your friends have come looking for you."

Said teen clicked his tongue and looked away. Levy could tell he was pouting, which amused her greatly.

"Yeah, he's skipped club activities a couple of times now," the pink-haired boy mentioned. "I'm Natsu Dragneel, by the way. I'm the Club President."

"I'm Romeo Conbolt," the shorter boy added.

"And I'm Wendy Marvell!" cheered the young girl with a grin.

"Hello," Levy smiled politely. "I'm the owner of The Inkwell, Levy McGarden." She paused for a second. "So, what club is this, exactly?"

"Oh yeah!" Natsu beamed, suddenly excited. "Believe it or not, we're actually a club about-"

"Dragneel!" Gajeel launched himself before the rosy-haired student could finish his sentence. He whipped around, hand on Natsu's mouth, to face Levy. "Ya know, I was plannin' on quittin' anyways, so it doesn't really matter.."

"Ehh?" Wendy gasped. "You're going to quit the club?"

"What?" Romeo's voice raised in anger. "But you're the _vice-president!_"

Levy's eyebrows raised. "Oh _really?"_ she smirked, but quickly put on a sugary-sweet smile. "Why would you ever want to quit the club you're vice-president of?"

"'Cause..." Gajeel muttered. "It's embarrassin',"

"Why's that?" She quirked her head to the side curiously, watching as Gajeel's face went a funny shade of red. To the side of her, Wendy and Romeo watched too, quietly snickering and giggling.

Suddenly, Natsu used Gajeel's momentary distraction to rip the guy's hand from his mouth.

"Oh for god's sake, Gajeel!" To Levy, he grinned brightly. "We're in the Dragon Club!"

A snort of laughter escaped her lips before she could hold it in, and she slapped both hands across her mouth and nose in surprise.

"I-I'm sorry," she stammered, grinning under her hands. "It's just...Dragon Club?"

Evident by the annoyance palpable in Gajeel's glare towards his club president, it seemed that Gajeel found the club to be as ridiculous-sounding as she did.

"Well, it's just," Natsu started, scratching his head sheepishly. "We found this old book in the college library, ya see? And it has all sorts of dragons in it. They all have different powers and abilities, and some could even control the elements." Natsu grinned brightly. "When I told my friends about it, we all got pretty excited!"

"We each picked a specific dragon to claim as 'ours' too!" Wendy added excitedly. "I chose the _aerie Draconis,_ the air dragon! They could eat air and control it! They also had healing powers!" The girl's eyes gleamed as she gushed about her dragon.

"I'm still looking at them, I can't decide what one I like best." Romeo muttered, looking shy.

"My favourite's the flame dragon!" Natsu announced. "One of the most powerful dragons to have existed, since he controlled fire and could eat it too!"

Everyone turned to a silent Gajeel. He glared back at them.

"No."

"Don't be shy Gajeel!"

"Your dragon is pretty cool, don't be ashamed!"

"I'll tell Levy about my dragon when I feel like it." He growled out angrily, crossing his arms over his chest. Levy tried her hardest not to imagine him as a stubborn child. "Now get the hell outta here!"

Whilst Romeo and Wendy pouted, Natsu smirked a little, as if he figured something out. "Alright, we'll leave you to talk with your girlfriend then, shall we?" He batted his eyelashes innocently, throwing a wink in Levy's direction. She blushed furiously as she sputtered in surprise.

Gajeel jolted suddenly, eyes wide. "Oi! She's not my-"

"Yeah yeah, whatever. See you in the clubroom after class tomorrow, Casanova!" Natsu grabbed Romeo's scarf as he walked towards the door of the shop, who in turn grabbed Wendy's arm, and the spontaneous conga line let itself out with cheerful waves and a chorus of flirty whistles.

As the door shut, silence spread over the room as Gajeel huffed into his scarf, trying to hide his face. Levy had no such protection, so she covered her cheeks with her hands.

"Y-you don't have to tell me," she blurted out quickly. "I mean, you're not obliged to tell me, anyway."

"Nah. It's... fine." Gajeel muttered. "My dragon is made of metal...or iron, something like that. It could eat iron and stuff and turn it's scales into an iron hide... stuff like that."

"I see." Levy smiled. "It suits you."

Gajeel scoffed and rolled his eyes. "'Cause I'm that badass, right?"

Levy laughed. "Of course. Badass Gajeel of the Dragon Club."

"Hey, that's not funny."

"Oh yes it is."

"Tch."

"Hey, Gajeel?"

"What?"

"You have some good friends." Levy looked out of the window at the falling rain. "To look for you as vigilantly as they did... not everyone does that."

"Yeah, I guess."

"You should bring them here more often!"

"Hell no."

"What? Why?"

Gajeel cleared his throat and mumbled under his breath. When he noticed Levy's confused expression, he repeated:

"I like being here alone, means I have ya to myself."

Levy couldn't form any words at the very honest explanation, so she did the one thing she could think of and started striding over to Gajeel, who took her rushed steps as anger.

"Hey I'm sorry I just thought-"

"Shush, you."

Once within arm's length she grabbed his coat and pulled herself towards him, wrabbing her thin arms around his waist. Sufficiently shocked, Gajeel's arms remained slightly raised for a moment, before relaxing enough for him to rest one hand on the petite woman's lower back and the other arm wrapping around her shoulders.

"Don't worry," Levy murmured into Gajeel's jacket softly, barely loud enough for him to hear. "You have my attention more often than not."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gajeel whispered back, ears red from the long time span of contact.

"It means you're interesting, Vice-President Gajeel of the Dragon Club."

"Goddammit, woman."

* * *

><p><strong>Development.<strong>

**This took longer than intended but here have the next chapter. A slight continuation of That'sRidiculous's interactions request, and we'll see more of it in planned chapters! I'm leaving Natsu's age a suprise ;) ((Anon Miri all the ages have been figured out but aren't completely switched over, if that makes any sense))  
>I have about 4 chapters plannedprompted for this, and Rhythm of Love is slowly getting there. College has been really hectic so this is as much as I can do. It'll be a while before I can update again, I think.**

**THANK YOU FOR ALL THE FOLLOWS FAVOURITES AND REVIEWs. I've Never had so many followers for a story before! THANK YOU!**

Love meee and let me know what you think!


	7. Bonus - Christmas Magic

**Merry Christmas! Have a present!**

* * *

><p>"Yer open on Christmas Day too?"<p>

The question was quiet, a small murmur the broke the silence that surrounded them in the empty shop. Levy, who was wandering from bookshelf to bookshelf and replacing the books that were out of order, simply hummed in response. Outside, the town itself seemed asleep under a blanket of snow.

"Aren't ya spendin' Christmas with yer brothers?"

"Believe it or not, but Jet has a wife," Levy smiled fondly, rearranging a couple of books on one of the lower shelves, where it appeared a child had knocked them down and hastily shoved them back. "As well as two kids; a boy, six; and a girl, four." Done with this particular row of shelving, Levy wandered almost aimlessly into the next aisle. Gajeel followed along silently, watching the petite woman closely.

"What about Droy?"

A small giggle escaped her lips as she smiled at some memory before her eyes. "He's been joining them every year because he gets to dress up as Santa and eat as many cookies as he wants." Grinning, she continued through the shop in this fashion, fixing and moving books here and there, the tall, brooding teen following closely like a fixated puppy. It may or may not have been due to the fact that she was still dressed like an adorable elf, who knows...

The shop had been surprisingly busy today, as it always was on this day each year. Levy, being a kind-hearted woman, always welcomed the lonely into her shop on this day, so that the people who had no-one would have someone to share the day with. Her friends had, as usual, helped out a great deal: Lucy advertised the advent at her interviews, MiraJane provided the food for the main meal at a great discount from her bistro, and Erza provided the delicious dessert treats from her bakery. Levy always found it amusing that the two rivals-since-childhood had taken nearly identical career paths in the end.

With the help of Lucy, Mira's younger sister Lisanna and Cana, who provided a barrel of mulled wine on the house from her pub, the day had gone by eventful and cheerful as they talked and laughed with the elderly men and women who came in for food and company. The whole shop was full of noises, from chatter to background music to the clinking of cutlery and dishes. Now though, the dishes have all been washed and put away, the tables have been cleaned up and the shop was closed for the day. Gajeel had arrived barely moments before the closing time at 6pm, Lucy and the others had left shortly before that.

"So you've been in here all day?" Gajeel concluded, leaning against the frame of the doorway into the back room, since the hanging beads had been taken down hours before, as they got in the way.

"Since about 11am, I think." Levy called from further inside. There was an unsettled look to Gajeel's face, though the blunette couldn't see this from where she stood. "I woke up, made pancakes, opened the presents I recieved from my brothers and friends, then came in to help with the preparations for the day." Her head popped out from the other side of the wall from him, startling him. "How did your Christmas go, Gajeel?"

Said teen grunted, shrugging. "Mum woke up late, handed Raios and I our presents, and went to work. Raios and I opened them and the presents from our dads, since we have different ones. We played a few games together and then he went off to meet his friends and I went to meet mine."

"Sounds like you had a good day then," Levy smiled warmly up at him, and before he could say what was on his mind she turned and dashed into the back room again. Sighing, the dark-haired teen rolled his eyes and wandered over to Levy's desk chair, where he slumped into a comfortable position.

A few minutes later, Gajeel heard Levy call to him.

"Hey, Gajeel, I have a present for you!"

"What? Why?" Gajeel frowned, mildly alarmed. He hadn't thought to get her anything at all!

"Here," much closer than before, Levy whirled her chair around so that Gajeel was facing her. She was still wearing her ridiculous Christmas hat with protruding elf ears, which on any other person would look comical if it wasn't for her short frame making them quite the fitting accessory. However, she now held some above her head...

Mistletoe.

Blushing, she stammered, "J-just on the cheek! Okay?"

Nodding silently, Gajeel closed his eyes and turned his face a little to the side. He could feel his face growing hotter as her face drew closer. Then there was a soft pressure against his cheek, which instantly flushed red. Opening his eyes he turned to face her again only to jump a little at their close proximity. Levy's face was equally red, and brightened further as she watched his eyes wander to her lips.

"Ya know," Gajeel breathed out hoarsely, "yer still holdin' that thing up. And I still need to give ya a present.."

Slowly, his hand reached up to cradle where her jaw met her neckline, then with little resistance, he pulled her head towards his and in an instant their lips brushed, their eyes shut and for a moment they forgot the world around them. And then they pulled away from each other, both a little surprised and had hearts racing a hundreds miles an hour.

But despite this, neither could wipe the grins off their faces.

* * *

><p><strong>I wrote this in maybe an hour. It was about twenty to one in the morning on Christmas day when I finished this so forgive any mistakes since I crashed straight afterwards. It's now nearly half past eleven, presents have been opened and now I'm going to see relatives. <strong>

**Also, I know Rboz requested a kiss scene to come up in this story so I hope this suffices.  
>Have a good day everyone! Happy Holidays.<strong>


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